Sailboat - Free Script Expansion

A number of simple rowboats and sailboats have been added that function similarly to mounts but with added storage, anchoring and accompanying features.

"That's what a boat is, you know. It's not a keel, a hull, a deck and a sail; that's what a boat needs. But a boat is... it's freedom."

-Captain Jack Sparrow

Ever wanted to take advantage of Skyrim's roaring waterways or explore its icy coast? Ever stood on the edge of a ghost sea and felt the call of the waves? Ever wanted to travel from port to port without swimming or walking? Now you can! This mod adds some simple and easy-to-use ships, allowing you to venture into the embrace of the ocean like a true Nord!

This mod succeeds ElstarTomas' popular scriptless ship mod (

This is a mod I've wanted to do for years but never tried it until now. It turned out to be much easier than I thought! There are many ship models out there, but none of the ElstarThomas ones are easy to use or feel natural. He manages to make the process simple enough that it doesn't become tedious, while still achieving a realistic boating feel. The biggest drawback is the boat's steady ride, which is unnatural for something you're rowing.

However, this action is perfect for sailing! With this in mind, I took some of DeviantKhaled's awesome ship models and used them as new ship models. I kept the original mod completely so that the original canoe still functions as expected. The only major changes I made were adding a few other ship models and adding a sailing mechanic. This script is actually a copy of the original ElstarThomas install/uninstall script, but with an added line to switch the boat model between rowing and non-rowing states. This goes a long way towards making it look more like you are actually sailing. There are still a few kinks to work out, but for the most part, it works surprisingly well!

-Six different boats!

-Three different rowing boats!

-Three sailing boats with real "working" sails!

-Storage on board!

-Carry passengers!

• Summon a boat from anywhere!

• Repair damaged ships!

• Different ships have a different balance between speed and power: Norse ships are sturdier and can carry more, but are much slower, while Elven sloops and canoes are much faster, but are weaker and can carry less.

-Ships are resistant to most magical damage, but are very prone to catching fire.

• All spells and functionality from the original mod remain unchanged, so everything should work perfectly for all new ships.

-Due to the way the sail-raising feature works, you actually have to rig the boat twice. It actually has a somewhat immersive feel to it, as you're essentially maneuvering the boat once to raise the sail, and then activating it again to actually sit down and turn. I'm trying to simplify the script so it feels a little more natural, but I don't mind taking the extra step.

-The only real way to make the sail feature work is to have two completely separate races for sailed and unsailed, and then switch between the two via script. I'm not 100% sure what effect this has on the system, but I haven't seen any issues so far. (Except it forces you to dismount when the game changes, hence the issue above.) I don't think this hurts the game's memorability at all.

-The boat will run across the land. This is a product of the original mod. I'm not sure if there's any real way to force an NPC to only swim, especially when riding a bike (e.g. even riding a riding fish can drag it to land with no problem.) Do some roleplaying to get the boat to sit in the water.

-Water traps the boat, so sometimes it looks like you're submerged. I've tried positioning the grid to hide most of it, but it can still happen.

-The boats are essentially mounted on mountable cows with adjustable behavior and bones to make them silent and motionless when not being ridden. However, sometimes this will happen and the ship will start moving on its own, either to escape or to fight the enemy. I'm trying to mitigate this, but …